Amanda has been working with our son through much of high school, and I feel like she is the main reason he has been able to succeed in high school both academically and emotionally. We so appreciate how Amanda is able to identify both the practical and pressing immediate needs and also the deeper and more existential issues. She helps our son keep wrestling with both and offers different techniques and possible solutions to try and work on. He has a complex intertwining of ADHD, anxiety and OCD and she is able to help him focus on his strengths and neurodiversity (rather than feeling broken) while helping him with concrete strategies to help him with his executive function, focus, working with his anxiety. When one type of scaffolding doesn’t work, she has so many others to offer. Pomodoro, body doubling, so many different ideas. And her session reports each week are so insightful and detailed—super helpful!
- Kat
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I really appreciate the way Amanda brings such thoughtful, research-backed, practical suggestions for our son to tackle his ADHD and academic issues as well as emotional issues, while at the same time being such a cool person who is so caring and has such a strong and understanding relationship with him, and who always goes the extra mile. All this plus great artistic slime!
- Joel
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We are thrilled with the work S is doing with Amanda. S's grades are great and their confidence and creativity have skyrocketed. Amanda has been a wonderful role model. I can't say enough about how pleased I am with the results I’ve seen. Thanks so much.
- Beth R.
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Amanda is incredible and has been super helpful with helping me radically improve my ability to focus and get what I need to do done while also just being an amazing person. 10/10 recommend.
- Jesse G., Berkeley High
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Hi Amanda,
Thank you so much for all of the work you are doing with [son]. I checked Illuminate last night and [son] has A’s in all of his classes except Spanish, where he has a B+. More importantly NO MISSING ASSIGNMENTS! This is a far cry from where we were last year at this time. I feel strongly that this weekly 3rd party accountability is what is keeping [son] focused and building good habits.
— Berkeley High mom
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Amanda - Sometimes people say "couldn't have done it without you" but they don't really mean it. In this case, it's so true. We and our daughter could not have done it without you! The support you provided to her brought tears to my eyes. She needed you, and you were there. THANK YOU SO MUCH. After all of her college apps were submitted, she and I talked a bit about amazingly helpful you were - she was so appreciative (and tired!). The irony is, the college counselor we hired who quit could not hold a candle to you. Amanda, your patience is seriously unparalleled! I am so grateful that the universe sent you to us! Can we book you for three years out when our son applies?
- D. & A.
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Our son (senior at ECHS) has been working with Amanda Burke and it's been a really good experience for him (and us). She has been primarily helping him craft his essays and personal statements but has helped with other areas of the application process. We set it up so that they met for 1 hour long sessions on a weekly basis but the schedule is completely flexible. I would absolutely recommend giving her a call.
— Anonymous parent
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My son got excellent help from Amanda Burke. She helped him identify what he wanted from college, helped him find students and graduates from his top choices to ask questions of, helped him find his voice for essays and applications, and instilled confidence in him. It really made a difference for him (and he got in to his first choice college via early decision!). He was "late" getting started (many of his friends had coaches starting the previous spring), and she is super affordable, which allowed us to have money for college, not just coaching.
— Anonymous parent
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Hi Amanda -
Just a note to say thanks for all the great work with E. Her report card for Q3 came in and it was the best in ages. Considering she started the quarter off with some low marks, it was amazing progress. Last week before the session she thought she would drop out of taking the advanced math test, but sounds like you got her re-focused and now I find her doing math drills for fun when she should be doing her actual homework. That's not a problem I ever thought we'd have! Thank you,
— Stephanie
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Hi Amanda,
Thank you for everything you have done for us the past few years. I'm sure without you we would still be battling it out over his writing. I love how you have built a relationship and rapport with (student), he never feels he's with a "tutor" but more so time to have a conversation about his thoughts with you.
— Julie
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Thank you Amanda! I picked D up and he was so excited about his session with you today. He said it was the the most fun session he has had and really wanted to work more on the story. I'm not sure if it was the subject matter or your method (I should ask him) but it really got him motivated, so thank you for all the work you've been doing with him.
— Lily
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Thank you Amanda! Your emails are so helpful as well as heartening. I feel like (student) is making great progress working with you both on her analysis, expository writing, and creative writing. I'm glad you got her to spend the time working on some new skills instead of reading more.
— Anonymous parent
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Amanda - you are so creative and I'm amazed with all of the interesting, challenging and engaging activities you have come up with the last 2 weeks. (Student) went from being bored and unproductive when we started home confinement, to being busy and purposeful each day - it's a complete miracle :)
— S
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Amanda, (Student's) writing really turned around that semester with you. He has done incredibly well ever since then, and he's done a truly awesome job on his college essays. We can't thank you enough for your patience and how much you taught him, on a technical level, and on a self-compassion level! We appreciated how meticulously you wrote to us every single time! It made such a huge difference to us to hear how our kid was doing each day and what you were accomplishing.
— Berkeley Parent
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I spoke with Sam and he feels better about the upcoming test. Thank you so much for your astute observations about his learning style and giving him useful strategies. A session well spent!
— Debbie
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Amanda’s tutoring help was a lifesaver! I’m not sure how we would have gotten Sebastian through this without Amanda - even after getting help from his teacher, he remained so stuck when it came to sitting down and writing on his own. Amanda managed to engage him via Zoom, which I really wasn’t sure would work given his challenges with remote learning. Amanda found a way to engage with him and he was able to actually sit down and write while he worked with her. Best part? Assignment was complete last night- yay!
--- Ana
- Kat
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I really appreciate the way Amanda brings such thoughtful, research-backed, practical suggestions for our son to tackle his ADHD and academic issues as well as emotional issues, while at the same time being such a cool person who is so caring and has such a strong and understanding relationship with him, and who always goes the extra mile. All this plus great artistic slime!
- Joel
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We are thrilled with the work S is doing with Amanda. S's grades are great and their confidence and creativity have skyrocketed. Amanda has been a wonderful role model. I can't say enough about how pleased I am with the results I’ve seen. Thanks so much.
- Beth R.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amanda is incredible and has been super helpful with helping me radically improve my ability to focus and get what I need to do done while also just being an amazing person. 10/10 recommend.
- Jesse G., Berkeley High
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Amanda,
Thank you so much for all of the work you are doing with [son]. I checked Illuminate last night and [son] has A’s in all of his classes except Spanish, where he has a B+. More importantly NO MISSING ASSIGNMENTS! This is a far cry from where we were last year at this time. I feel strongly that this weekly 3rd party accountability is what is keeping [son] focused and building good habits.
— Berkeley High mom
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amanda - Sometimes people say "couldn't have done it without you" but they don't really mean it. In this case, it's so true. We and our daughter could not have done it without you! The support you provided to her brought tears to my eyes. She needed you, and you were there. THANK YOU SO MUCH. After all of her college apps were submitted, she and I talked a bit about amazingly helpful you were - she was so appreciative (and tired!). The irony is, the college counselor we hired who quit could not hold a candle to you. Amanda, your patience is seriously unparalleled! I am so grateful that the universe sent you to us! Can we book you for three years out when our son applies?
- D. & A.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Our son (senior at ECHS) has been working with Amanda Burke and it's been a really good experience for him (and us). She has been primarily helping him craft his essays and personal statements but has helped with other areas of the application process. We set it up so that they met for 1 hour long sessions on a weekly basis but the schedule is completely flexible. I would absolutely recommend giving her a call.
— Anonymous parent
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My son got excellent help from Amanda Burke. She helped him identify what he wanted from college, helped him find students and graduates from his top choices to ask questions of, helped him find his voice for essays and applications, and instilled confidence in him. It really made a difference for him (and he got in to his first choice college via early decision!). He was "late" getting started (many of his friends had coaches starting the previous spring), and she is super affordable, which allowed us to have money for college, not just coaching.
— Anonymous parent
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Amanda -
Just a note to say thanks for all the great work with E. Her report card for Q3 came in and it was the best in ages. Considering she started the quarter off with some low marks, it was amazing progress. Last week before the session she thought she would drop out of taking the advanced math test, but sounds like you got her re-focused and now I find her doing math drills for fun when she should be doing her actual homework. That's not a problem I ever thought we'd have! Thank you,
— Stephanie
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Amanda,
Thank you for everything you have done for us the past few years. I'm sure without you we would still be battling it out over his writing. I love how you have built a relationship and rapport with (student), he never feels he's with a "tutor" but more so time to have a conversation about his thoughts with you.
— Julie
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you Amanda! I picked D up and he was so excited about his session with you today. He said it was the the most fun session he has had and really wanted to work more on the story. I'm not sure if it was the subject matter or your method (I should ask him) but it really got him motivated, so thank you for all the work you've been doing with him.
— Lily
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you Amanda! Your emails are so helpful as well as heartening. I feel like (student) is making great progress working with you both on her analysis, expository writing, and creative writing. I'm glad you got her to spend the time working on some new skills instead of reading more.
— Anonymous parent
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amanda - you are so creative and I'm amazed with all of the interesting, challenging and engaging activities you have come up with the last 2 weeks. (Student) went from being bored and unproductive when we started home confinement, to being busy and purposeful each day - it's a complete miracle :)
— S
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amanda, (Student's) writing really turned around that semester with you. He has done incredibly well ever since then, and he's done a truly awesome job on his college essays. We can't thank you enough for your patience and how much you taught him, on a technical level, and on a self-compassion level! We appreciated how meticulously you wrote to us every single time! It made such a huge difference to us to hear how our kid was doing each day and what you were accomplishing.
— Berkeley Parent
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I spoke with Sam and he feels better about the upcoming test. Thank you so much for your astute observations about his learning style and giving him useful strategies. A session well spent!
— Debbie
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Amanda’s tutoring help was a lifesaver! I’m not sure how we would have gotten Sebastian through this without Amanda - even after getting help from his teacher, he remained so stuck when it came to sitting down and writing on his own. Amanda managed to engage him via Zoom, which I really wasn’t sure would work given his challenges with remote learning. Amanda found a way to engage with him and he was able to actually sit down and write while he worked with her. Best part? Assignment was complete last night- yay!
--- Ana